How to Celebrate Your Singlehood

For the first 21 years of my life, I only spent two Valentine’s Days with a special someone that wasn’t my parents. The other years, especially those from puberty and on, were spent woefully single. Now having spent the next decade of V-Day’s with my husband, I’ve managed to realize how remarkably unremarkable the day can be. In some cases, it’s a total sham and is no reflection of what it really means to love someone the other 364 days a year. In other cases, it’s because I’m remembering longingly the days of my single youth.

The aptly named and timed Single Awareness Day falls directly after Valentine’s Day. Despite the gloomy acronym, it celebrates the glorious benefits of being solo and lends support to those of us raised in the good ol’ Disney days that encouraged us to find our prince. Here’s a handful of ways you can celebrate singlehood!

Watch movies that make you happy you’re single

Relationships aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. There’s cheating, awkward moments, rejection, boredom, stalking, kidnapping, etc. You might be alone in the world (except for your cats), but at least you aren’t on the way to driving off the side of a canyon or desperately in love with a vampire. Check out this Buzzfeed list of movies that will make you super happy that you’re single.

Sign up for a course

When you’re in a relationship, you maybe lucky enough to have a partner that truly supports your personal development. But that gets more difficult with time, especially once kids come into play. Take advantage of being on your own and fill some of your spare time with a self-betterment course or class. I’m not talking a cheesy self-help class. Whether it’s an art class, yoga or a continuing education class that will help you in your career, find something that is fulfilling to you and embrace it.

Sleep in the center of your bed

If, heaven forbid, I ever became single again, I would make my next husband my king-sized bed. Every night, I would make a nest of pillows and blankets. I would sleep diagonally, horizontally, and maybe vertically. I would put my head at the foot of the bed. I would sleep with the radio and bathroom light on. I would turn the air down so it was approximately 54 degrees and burrow my body under 17 blankets. I would have the most peaceful, cuddly, snore, fart, husband-free sleep that ever existed. But maybe that’s just me.

Redecorate your home

Do you love shabby chic? Do you wish you could live in Don Draper’s apartment on Mad Men? Would you like to spend your weekends at Home Depot picking out paint and lighting fixtures? Make your house (or apartment) your home with projects that make it more comfortable and appealing to you. Couples rarely find it easy to compromise about home decor, so being single makes you the queen of your little castle! Enjoy it!

Shave less

Be honest. You don’t really want to shave your legs every few days. And the truth is, if you’re in a long-term relationship, you’re probably not shaving a lot either. But that awkward first few months to couple years of relationship make you feel pressured to be hairless and well-groomed about 98% of the time. When you are single, you can skip shaving, wear your sweatpants and embrace the power of dry shampoo. I’m not saying that you should give up on personal hygiene. Just spend a little more time with the things you want to and not so much time on removing all the hair from your body.

Singlehood isn’t bad. Even popular culture has stopped demonizing single women as old maids. Remember Beyonce shaming the entire male population for not putting a ring on it? Being single is a magnificent opportunity to explore who you are and who you want to be. Take advantage of this time to grow, so that if and when the time comes you settle down, you won’t resent your partner for missing out on self-exploration.